Share this:

Like this:

40 comments

I was wondering if you would want a VERY OLD set of Colliers encyclopedia published in 1965. It was mine as a kid and still in good shape but I really have no use for it. I can bring it to you. I hate to just trash it. Please feel free to email or call me 302-367-3944. Thank you.

I was impressed with your article in Family Circle. I have a set of Harvard Classics (never opened) that I could donate. I’ll call to see the scope of what you need as well. I have full sets of all of the Oprah pics and many other novels in great shape, if this is something you’d like.

Dear Teri, I wish we could take them! Sadly, shipping is too expensive. For kids’ books, try your local PAL Center or Boys and Girls Club. For adult books try a low income senior center or community center. Or, you might see if your local library has a “Friends” group. Ours has an annual Used Book Sale with 70,000 books! Thanks so much for writing! Susan

Hi, Susan. A friend told me about your organization because my husband and I have a very large collection (about 1,500 books) that were left to him when his father passed away suddenly in October of 2012. They are currently being stored in many, many rubber maid totes in a storage facility because we’ve had no luck donating them to local libraries or other non-profits because of the amount and many don’t want any fiction at all. Some groups have requested a book list, but honestly, it’s too vast for us to go through every tote to make a list while doing so in a storage facility. They are in excellent condition, some have never been opened. The topcs vary from politics, to fiction, science fiction, you name it, we probably have it. Does your organization do bulk pick ups? We live in Southern NJ.

I live in South Dakota and have a bag of books sitting here ready to donate. Intended to take them to our small town (newer) library, but they are open such limited hrs that I haven’t made it there when they are open. These are new, hard-cover books that have never even been opened. I joined one of those book a month clubs & didn’t always get my “please don’t send” in on time so I have about 15 adult books that I want to get rid of. Can you use them? Or should I try to find somewhere else here to donate them? Certainly not kid books, but maybe things that soldiers would like, and I think I read that you donateed some to troops. Do you have any sister-organizations in other states? I have LOTS of books I could get rid of, but I refuse to throw them away, so I keep buying them and moving them.

If books were to be shipped to you, at my expense, would you accept the assortment of children’s and other books? I’m in Boston. I also read about SWW in 2/13 Family Circle magazine. Congratulations on your outreach!

Dear Bonnie, thanks so much for writing to us. yes, we would love the books. We work with some senior centers and I think that they would be much appreciated! Our mailing address is 1729 Marsh Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19810. All the best! Susan

Hi. I’m in Atlanta, GA and wondering if you have considered packaging/franchising your idea so that others can mirror it in other states. I think there is a great opportunity to apply your idea in my area. I would love to try it if I could get some “how to” support from you to get started.

Do you ever make arrangements to pick up books? I have at least 20,000 books that I would be willing to donate if u provide transportation. I am located in Kansas. If u could send a truck…I can get the town to assist in loading them. The books range from childrens to reference books and manuals, westerns and romance and much more. Please let me know cause I would hate to
throw them away.

Congratulations Tammy on not tossing books. Try getting some $$$ from vested non-profits such as Read America and similar groups. You can also donate to nsg centers, senior centers, pre-schools. pEDIATRIC UNITS MAY NOT ACCEPT DONATIONS BECAUSE OF GERM RISK WITH A VULNERABLE POPULATION – THAT’S THE CASE WITH cHILDREN’S hOSPITAL HERE IN Boston. also HOMELESS SHELTERS GENERALLY LOVE TO Get THESE . Also check $$$ for rail freight and large moving companies – sometimes they’ll piggy-back such donations.

Dear Carol, You are right — some of the hospitals/offices won’t take the books, but surprisingly, some do. The homeless shelters and temporary residential locations have been incredibly receptive — it’s so gratifying to see the kids with the books! And, yes, we occasionally are able to hook up with a trucking company or organization like Better World Books. That’s how we moved 8,000+ from Delaware to New Orleans. We’d never be able to do it on our own. Instead of a shoestring budget, ours is more like dental floss!! Thanks for writing! Susan

I read about you in Family Circle. You have a wonderful organization and I would like to help. I live in northern New Jersey and am happy to make the drive to your office to drop off donations. Are there any books that you don’t take? Is it helpful if you get the books with the owner’s name already blacked out, tears fixed, etc? If so, do you have any specific instructions? For example do you use a black marker to black out the owner name? I would love to help in any way I can. Bravo and keep up the great work!

Dear Stephanie, Thanks so much for your kind words. We work hard and I hope that we are doing some good! Thank you, too, for your offer to drop off the books — we’d love to meet you. We are open Monday through Friday 10-2, but if you need a special day/time we can arrange that. In answer to your question, yes, it’s incredibly helpful to have the books “prepped” for distribution. We ususally clean them with a “green” spray cleaner, tape any rips, use a sharpie to black out names, and in general spruce the books up. But, if you don’t have time, we have volunteers (Girl Scout troops, National Honor Society students, etc.) who are our “cleaning crews!” If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Susan

I read your article in Family Circle and loved it and love what you are doing. I have about 30 books, paperback and hard back that I am trying to get rid of. They are adult fiction books and I was wondering if you take those. I would be willing to box them up and ship them to you.

Like Carol above, I too am “wondering if you have considered packaging/franchising your idea so that others can mirror it in other states. I think there is a great opportunity to apply your idea in my area. I would love to try it if I could get some “how to” support from you to get started.” Is there perhaps a pdf/handbook, so others can get started using your methods, in other parts of the US?

Dear Carol, Thanks so much for writing! Since we are a non-profit, we can’t really francise the idea. But, if anyone would like to start a similar program, we’re happy to lend a hand with a timeline, task list, must-haves, etc. Susan 🙂

Do you have a use for student’s college text books? All were purchased within the past 4 years, and some are novels for English classes. Also, do you have any drop off facilities in Connecticut or know of any other organizations in CT that accepts used text books? Please advise. Thank you!

We do take some textbooks, although college books are hard toplace, because they keep changing. Have you tried to sell them back? You can sell them back directly to the school or try http://bookscouter.com which acceseses several buy-back programs. I don’t know of any place in CT specifically, however, if you can find a tutoring center that works with low income high school students, that may be a good option. Hope this helps!

I have a lot of books – some childrens books that my Grandaughter no longer uses – our local library does not belong to this program – how can I get these books to you as I live in Upstate NY and no where near Delaware ?? thank you for your help

You can mail them via media mail which is the least expensive method available. Our mailing address is 1729 Marsh Road, Wilmington, DE 19810. Or, you can donate them locally. Some places to try are the Police Athletic League (PAL Centers), Boys and Girls Clubs, HeadStart (pre-K only), and even some local schools may be in need. We have worked with several Title 1 schools who give books to their students (who don’t have books at home and who may not have access to a library during the summer) for summer reading. Hope this helps! Susan

A very interesting idea! I work at a behavior health facility and I know they could use books for the clients to read in their down time. How hard would this be to do for a volunteer or someone who just does it once in a while? If I did this would I need to put hours and hours into it, or could I do it in a few weekends? KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Thanks so much for writing! It takes a lot of time and a LOT of volunteers. No one here is paid and I know I put in 20+ hours personally every week on top of a regular fulltime job. Not for the faint of heart! Of course, you can make it a smaller program, and specialize in only a certain type of book (kids, adult, text). Also, be sure you have a place to store them all — everyone is so generous!